Inverse Association Between Shingles Vaccination and Dementia Disclosed

In a new study published by BMC Public Health, researchers investigated the effect of zoster vaccination on dementia risk in an extensive UK population-based data set.

On October 2, 2023, these researchers disclosed an inverse association between zoster vaccination and dementia outcome in a fully adjusted model (HR 0.78, 95% CI: 0.77–0.79).

For Alzheimer's disease, the effect size is smaller (HR 0.91, 95% CI: 0.89–0.92); however, this result is likely only significant because of the large sample size involved.

To investigate if the result seen was exclusive to HZ vaccination, we also explored the effect of influenza vaccine and dementia/Alzheimer's disease.

They found a slight decreased hazard risk with HR of 0.96 (95% CI: 0.94–0.97) for dementia and HR of 1.10 (95% CI: 1.07–1.12) for Alzheimer's disease.

It has been estimated that the number of people with dementia could increase from 57 million cases in 2019 to 152 (130.8–175.9) million cases worldwide in 2050.

These researchers wrote, 'Several population-based studies have suggested a link between herpes zoster infection or vaccine against shingles and dementia. However, other population-based studies did not show any association between zoster infection and dementia risk.'

Globally, there are several approved shingles (herpes zoster) vaccines.

In the United States, GlaxoSmithKline plc Shingrix® is generally available at health clinics and pharmacies and has been reported up to 90% effective against shingles infection in various clinical trials.